#19 - IELTS Speaking test in the UK – April 2016

Test # 19

- What is your full name?

My name is Ursula Sequiera.

- Can I see your ID?

Yes sure.

- Where are you from?

I’m from Kochi, a city in Kerala, in south India.

- Do you work or study?

I’m working as a cashier in a private bank in my city.

- Let’s talk about you home.

Sure!

- What is the best part of your house?

The best part of my house is my bedroom. I have decorated it according to my tastes and I am there most of the time when I’m home. We live in a bungalow and my room is on the level above the ground floor, and overlooking our garden. It is really peaceful for me to sit in my balcony and look out while reading a book or working on my laptop.

- What do you want to change in the house?

Nothing actually! We recently got the house renovated and we changed everything that was old or needed repairs like we got a fresh coat of paint done on the exteriors walls and changed some of the furniture. So I don’t want to change anything as of now.

- Why do you want to do it?

(if you answer the previous question positively for example you want to change the furniture, then you might say ‘I want it changed as it is very old fashioned / has become weak / takes up too much space, etc.)

- What is the best thing about your school?

The best thing about my school was the teachers. All the teachers of my school were very friendly and helpful and they made my memories with the school all the more special. I think our principal took great care while recruiting teachers because I don’t remember not liking even a single one of them.

Cue Card

Describe your goal in life. Please say

- What is it?

- Why do you want to achieve it?

- What steps do you have to take to reach your goal?

My goal in life is to become a successful person, both on career and personal fronts. I want to work hard and make a mark for myself in the society. The community that I belong to does not take risks when it comes to careers, and we all end up with stereotypical jobs, like I have right now. In spite of that, I know I have a lot to learn and I want to make it big in this industry. I’m hoping to get a similar or a better post in a bank in the country I’m planning to go to and by the time I’m 35 I want to be on senior managerial level. Personally I want to be able to take care of my parents and give them a lavish lifestyle, something they didn’t quite enjoy in order to let me and my brother study affluently. Even I want to travel to a lot of places that I have on my bucket-list. Later on, when I feel I’ve achieved these goals, I’d like to get married and settle down with a humble and kind-hearted person.

Discussion

- Is it easy to achieve it?

If I work determinately and be true to my ambitions, I don’t think it can be very hard.

- Do you think ambitious people are born with self-confidence or they become confident because they are ambitious?

I think both…if they are confident they are able to draw out an ambition in life and mostly they are quite clear in this, and once they have their target, they feel even more confident in working towards it.

- Do you think our society needs ambitious people or is it better without them?

OF course our society needs ambitious people. These people give inspiration and motivation to others to constantly strive for the better. For example, I take inspiration from the Iron Lady of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, who was a highly ambitious and strong political leader in the times when women were not given so much liberty in the society.

- Is achieving goals more important than the way we achieve it?

No I feel the way we achieve our goals truly make us what we are. Unethical means or cheating to achieve what we want is never gonna stay with us for long.

- Should everyone have a goal in life? Why?

Having a goal gives a direction to life. For example a student’s goal is to score well in studies, a doctor’s goal is to save every life that comes to him for help. Without a goal, we are just passing our days of life like animals.

- What difference does it make?

As I said, if we don’t have a direction in life, we are no different than animals, who eat, sleep, mate, eventually die, and the cycle goes on and on.